Pride and Prejudice - Film Locations in England

Follow in the Footsteps of Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen

Sep 7, 2008

The film locations for Pride and Prejudice are faithful to the original novel, set mainly in England's Peak District, in the Counties of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

Film tourism is gaining in popularity. The novels of Jane Austen having been turned into popular films and TV productions, film fans and tourists are flocking to some of the loveliest parts of England - the Peak District, the counties of Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire.

Below are a selection of the places where the five Bennett sisters spent time and where the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) and Lizzie Bennett (Keira Knightley) finally solved their romantic dilemmas.

Historic Houses

Chatsworth was the ideal stately home to use for the exteriors and some interiors of Pemberley, Darcy's family home in the film of Pride and Prejudice. Long a favourite with those who like to visit stately homes, its inclusion in the Austen catalogue of settings has added to its popularity. The Duke of Devonshire, Chatworth's owner, has for some time been scattering monumental pieces of sculpture throughout the park, and visitors to the estate can see Marc Quinn's famous statue of Kate Moss, not to mention Damien Hirst's naked, pregnant Virgin Mother.

England is blessed with fine examples of medieval halls, but Haddon is one of the finest. For Pride and Prejudice, the banqueting hall was transformed and stood in for the Inn at Lambton and the lovely dining-room became the bedroom of Elizabeth.

Burghley House was used for the exterior and interior scenes of Rosings, the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the dowager aunt of Darcy. One of the grandest of England's Elizabethan houses (and the home of the Cecils), all the material used in the house building came from a local quarry in Northamptonshire. The inner courtyard displays the essential Tudor nature of the building as does the gatehouse on the west front, the original entrance to the House.

Another National Trust owned estate, Lyme Hall is a Palladian mansion surrounded by 1,300 acres of deer park. It was used as the exterior for Pemberley in the BBC series and featured the famous scene where a very wet Darcy emerged from the lake. One of the most popular places to visit.

Restoration country house architecture is responsible for many of the fine landscaped parks and formal gardens one finds in England, and Belton House is a fine example of this. It’s stunning interiors and the exterior gardens and parks were used for both interior and exterior scenes of Rosings in the BBC series.

The 460 year old Wilton House is the family home of the Earls of Pembroke and was a fitting background for the Darcy family home. The Double Cube Room was used as the drawing room where Lizzie met his sister, Georgina. Although only one-third of the size it was originally, the estate contains the largest wood in the South of England.

The Villages Used in the Film and TV Productions

In this fine Georgian stone town, one of the finest in England, St. George's Square stood in for the village of Meryton, home of the Bennetts. Viewers will remember the scene where the redcoats marched down the street. It is a town that is frequently seen in period films.

Lacock Village is well known to fans of BBC costume drama as it has featured in many of its productions. In Pride and Prejudice it stood in for the village of Meryton and the 17th century Abbey furnished some of Pemberley’s interior scenes.

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